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Between rituals Overcoming fatigue, religiosity and sheer superstition, footballers live like any normal person, searching for things that will help them perform at their best in matches.
In our normal life, we may see someone sometimes decides to wear the same clothes on all test days after they find some ease in the first test, or others decide to follow certain tiles on the sidewalks, but it's a little different for football players.
Many soccer players follow rituals either during or before matches,
Selfie from the bathroom
Tipo Courtois, Real Madrid goalkeeper, has one of the strangest habits to break.
The "Merengue" goalkeeper sends a selfie to four of his friends in Belgium before the matches, and it is very normal until we know that he does it from the bathroom.
Besides, Courtois touches his chin while his team stands in pre-match tradition, as a means of luck.
Beckham fridge!
English football legend David Beckham performs one of the strangest rituals ever.
Beckham arranges his fridge on a digital basis, and if the number of items in the fridge is odd, he gets rid of one.
Cruyff .. a blow and spit!
Although Johan Cruyff is a superstitious hater, he did follow one.
The Dutchman would hit Ajax goalkeeper Geert Pals in the stomach, then spit his gum into the opponents' half.
It is strange that Cruyff did not do this tradition in one of the matches and lost his team, and that was in the 1969 European Champions League final between AC Milan and Ajax in the Netherlands.
A call and prayer with the parent!
Brazilian Neymar, the star of Paris Saint-Germain, is known to be very adherent to his religion, and he follows it in pre-match rituals.
Neymar's pre-match ritual includes a long call with his father, then the pair pray together, then Neymar listens to music, and posts anything about him on social media.
#Kiss on the head Barthez!
On France's journey to their first World Cup title in 1998, the sight of Laurent Blanc kissing the head of bald goalkeeper Fabien Barthez in a gesture of good fortune was odd, and it seemed to pay off.
The kiss began before the first match in the 1998 World Cup, and with France progressing, it became almost necessary before the "roosters" matches.
Blanc was suspended after the semi-final match, his absence from the final was inevitable, and the most discussed thing in France before facing Brazil was, who will kiss Barthez's head?
Blanc solved the problem, when he came down in a normal sports uniform before the World Cup final, and kissed Barthez's head, so that the French team won its first World Cup.
The tradition continued, bringing good luck to France at Euro 2000 as well, and when Blanc ended his career, Barthez would not allow any other player to kiss his bald head.
#Terry.. a series of rituals!
Chelsea legend John Terry had a series of rituals before every game.
Terry used to sit on the same bus seat every time, and during matches at Stamford Bridge he made sure to go to the bathroom and use the same booth.
"I'm very superstitious," Terry says. "If we win a match and you do something before that, I add it to my ritual chain."
Terry had been using the same shin guard for ten years before he lost it, and he also used duct tape on his socks to wrap it up exactly three times.
Ronaldo .. hair styles and long-sleeved shirt!
Cristiano Ronaldo, the Manchester United star, is a superstitious fanatic and has a set of pre-match rituals that he never abandons.
Ronaldo is the only player in the Portugal national team, with the exception of the goalkeeper, who always plays in a long-sleeved shirt.
Before each match, Ronaldo combs his hair in a different way, and changes the haircut between the halves on many occasions.
Ronaldo is also keen to enter the field with his right foot, and is keen to be the last of his teammates to enter the field.
#Klopp .. I will not touch the Liverpool logo!
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp completely refuses to touch the famous "This is Anfield" logo in the entrance to his team's stadium, and he has good reason for it.
Where he touched the logo when he was with Dortmund, and lost in the friendly against Liverpool 5-0.
Klopp completely refused to touch that famous mark before Liverpool achieved a major title with the "Reds", which was achieved after winning the English Premier League title in the 2019-2020 season, the Champions League in the previous season, and a number of other titles.
Suarez bandage!
Atlético Madrid striker Luis Suarez has something that caught the public's attention, which is the bandage that he wraps around his right wrist.
Suarez doesn't really have anything to do with his wrist, but his use of the protective strap has become a habit, and perhaps luck.
Suarez says about it: “A few years ago, I was injured while playing for Liverpool, the bone in my right hand was cracked, and the doctor wrapped it to put pressure on it.”
After he recovered, Suarez decided to continue to appear with a wrist bandage, and it seemed that it had become a habit that he could not give up and brought him luck.
Suarez has revealed another habit, as before each time he enters the stadium he tattoos one of his hand.
"I always tattoo the names of my daughter and my wife," Suarez says. "Yes, we as players are superstitious."